Cyprus-Forum.com

[denizaksulu]

Where was your True democracy when we were forced into enclaves and the untouchables were given a free reign to cause mayhem.

So what's stopping you from taking the TMT to the ECHR?

Because it was not the TMT who was pointing the gun at me, it was your brave eoka, surrounded us from all sides. You forget I was there between 63 and 72. I didn't see any TMT guns pointing at me old chap. It was always those ugly roc police and gavur soldiers.

Bombs away Y-Fronts...

On the 7th of June 1958, the Turkish Consulate Press Office was bombed; however, it was not bombed by EOKA. It was bombed by TMT. Either unaware Turkish Cypriots or TMT agents rioted and Greek Cypriots were expelled from a mixed district in Nicosia. Turkish Cypriot nationalist extremists then turned over or torched the evacuated Greek Cypriot homes.

Lots of Turkish Cypriots fled from mixed or isolated villages. According to Nancy Crawshaw, Turkish Cypriot nationalist extremists were responsible for most of the hundreds of individual arson attacks against homes and religious sites, but according to Keith Kyle, '[m]any Turkish [Cypriot] villages were burned' wholly.

On the 25th of March 1962, TMT bombed Bayraktar Mosque and Ömeriye Mosque, then murdered Ayhan Hikmet and Muzaffer Gürkan when they revealed that TMT were responsible. They bombed Bayraktar Mosque again on the 23rd of January 1963, and it was probably TMT who bombed Ömeriye Mosque again on the 30th of May.

http://human-rights-archaeology.blogspo ... -1963.html

But, you don't mention anything about what your untouchables did at the same time frame. Once an eshek always an eshek.
I like the word probably used in your quotes. Your accuracy leaves a lot to be desired. Strange you also don't mention the bombs that eoka put to on the statue of your eoka leader, what was his name? Dragulli? to put the fear of god into GCs. There me thinking you were finally waking up from your slumber. Continue with your dream that you live in, cause six months time you will wake up to your worst nightmare.

wHAT WE DO NOT WANT IS WAKING UP TO NIGHTMARES. This will only lead to future strife.

Judging by the way the talks are going nightmare is where we are heading. Of course we do not want to go there but we may have no choice on the matter. One thing for sure though is that we will not be in the same nightmare. Each side will have their own nightmare.

So there is nothing to gloat about.

[Kikapu]

Here is an article that appears in the Times today , by Dr Taj Hargey the chairman of the Muslim Educational Centre of Oxford and the imam of the Summertown Islamic Congregation in Oxford , commenting on Switzerland's recent referendum on minarets.
It makes a great deal of sense and European Muslims ought to take notice.



""Switzerland’s referendum vote to ban minarets is needlessly xenophobic but it does not infringe the religious liberty of Swiss Muslims. Minarets remain emblematic of mosques in the Muslim heartlands but there is no theological reason why houses of worship in the West have to incorporate such towers.

Their original purpose was to relay the prayer call with the unamplified voice. Today this is done by modern technology, so minarets are not integral to contemporary mosque design. European mosques should stop mindlessly mimicking Eastern design and create prayer halls that blend into the landscape.

Muslims who have settled in Switzerland (and elsewhere in Europe) should not confuse culture with creed. To become integrated into their surroundings, they must relinquish the cultural baggage of their ancestral homelands. They should practice a Swiss Islam that is rooted in the society in which they live.

Although the Swiss have been convinced by right-wing zealots that minarets are a problem, local Muslims should not embrace a victim mentality. They must confront the toxic radicalisation of their faith that is imported from overseas.
The Wahhabi denomination (and its kindred sects), which has unlimited petrodollars and exclusive jurisdiction over Islam’s holiest mosques, engenders rampant misogyny, anti-democratic obscurantism and an archaic legal code, which includes an un-Koranic prohibition on non-Muslim religious buildings in Islamic lands. Switzerland now joins Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan in banning the buildings of non-dominant faiths.

When European Muslims unthinkingly endorse this warped theology by desiring medieval Sharia, defending honour killings, stoning to death, forced marriages, Muslim exceptionalism and a separatist society, they only invoke fear and exacerbate anti-Muslim sentiment. When Europe’s Muslims extol such un-Koranic doctrines as the niqab (face veil), they exclude themselves from the mainstream.

Only when Muslim immigrants and converts in Europe reject the twisted ideology of a fundamentalist male clergy will the chief causes of anti-Muslim prejudice in Europe recede. Meanwhile, despite the Islamophobic minaret ban, the religious rights of Swiss Muslims remain intact. They do, however, have a rare opportunity to cut the link with the dominant theology of the East and to restore Islam’s pristine beliefs.

Dr Taj Hargey is the chairman of the Muslim Educational Centre of Oxford and the imam of the Summertown Islamic Congregation in Oxford

An excellent article. Thank you, Miltiades.!

[YFred]

Where was your True democracy when we were forced into enclaves and the untouchables were given a free reign to cause mayhem.

So what's stopping you from taking the TMT to the ECHR?

Because it was not the TMT who was pointing the gun at me, it was your brave eoka, surrounded us from all sides. You forget I was there between 63 and 72. I didn't see any TMT guns pointing at me old chap. It was always those ugly roc police and gavur soldiers.

Bombs away Y-Fronts...

On the 7th of June 1958, the Turkish Consulate Press Office was bombed; however, it was not bombed by EOKA. It was bombed by TMT. Either unaware Turkish Cypriots or TMT agents rioted and Greek Cypriots were expelled from a mixed district in Nicosia. Turkish Cypriot nationalist extremists then turned over or torched the evacuated Greek Cypriot homes.

Lots of Turkish Cypriots fled from mixed or isolated villages. According to Nancy Crawshaw, Turkish Cypriot nationalist extremists were responsible for most of the hundreds of individual arson attacks against homes and religious sites, but according to Keith Kyle, '[m]any Turkish [Cypriot] villages were burned' wholly.

On the 25th of March 1962, TMT bombed Bayraktar Mosque and Ömeriye Mosque, then murdered Ayhan Hikmet and Muzaffer Gürkan when they revealed that TMT were responsible. They bombed Bayraktar Mosque again on the 23rd of January 1963, and it was probably TMT who bombed Ömeriye Mosque again on the 30th of May.

http://human-rights-archaeology.blogspo ... -1963.html

But, you don't mention anything about what your untouchables did at the same time frame. Once an eshek always an eshek.
I like the word probably used in your quotes. Your accuracy leaves a lot to be desired. Strange you also don't mention the bombs that eoka put to on the statue of your eoka leader, what was his name? Dragulli? to put the fear of god into GCs. There me thinking you were finally waking up from your slumber. Continue with your dream that you live in, cause six months time you will wake up to your worst nightmare.

wHAT WE DO NOT WANT IS WAKING UP TO NIGHTMARES. This will only lead to future strife.

Judging by the way the talks are going nightmare is where we are heading. Of course we do not want to go there but we may have no choice on the matter. One thing for sure though is that we will not be in the same nightmare. Each side will have their own nightmare.

So there is nothing to gloat about.

Of course not. I was merely pointing to the future for them and omitted for us. Very interesting development thought, with the meetings lasting 3 days at a time, we may actually get there yet.
Just as we think its over, they throw slight hope at us.
January seems to me to be the crunch month.

[denizaksulu]

Where was your True democracy when we were forced into enclaves and the untouchables were given a free reign to cause mayhem.

So what's stopping you from taking the TMT to the ECHR?

Because it was not the TMT who was pointing the gun at me, it was your brave eoka, surrounded us from all sides. You forget I was there between 63 and 72. I didn't see any TMT guns pointing at me old chap. It was always those ugly roc police and gavur soldiers.

Bombs away Y-Fronts...

On the 7th of June 1958, the Turkish Consulate Press Office was bombed; however, it was not bombed by EOKA. It was bombed by TMT. Either unaware Turkish Cypriots or TMT agents rioted and Greek Cypriots were expelled from a mixed district in Nicosia. Turkish Cypriot nationalist extremists then turned over or torched the evacuated Greek Cypriot homes.

Lots of Turkish Cypriots fled from mixed or isolated villages. According to Nancy Crawshaw, Turkish Cypriot nationalist extremists were responsible for most of the hundreds of individual arson attacks against homes and religious sites, but according to Keith Kyle, '[m]any Turkish [Cypriot] villages were burned' wholly.

On the 25th of March 1962, TMT bombed Bayraktar Mosque and Ömeriye Mosque, then murdered Ayhan Hikmet and Muzaffer Gürkan when they revealed that TMT were responsible. They bombed Bayraktar Mosque again on the 23rd of January 1963, and it was probably TMT who bombed Ömeriye Mosque again on the 30th of May.

http://human-rights-archaeology.blogspo ... -1963.html

But, you don't mention anything about what your untouchables did at the same time frame. Once an eshek always an eshek.
I like the word probably used in your quotes. Your accuracy leaves a lot to be desired. Strange you also don't mention the bombs that eoka put to on the statue of your eoka leader, what was his name? Dragulli? to put the fear of god into GCs. There me thinking you were finally waking up from your slumber. Continue with your dream that you live in, cause six months time you will wake up to your worst nightmare.

wHAT WE DO NOT WANT IS WAKING UP TO NIGHTMARES. This will only lead to future strife.

Judging by the way the talks are going nightmare is where we are heading. Of course we do not want to go there but we may have no choice on the matter. One thing for sure though is that we will not be in the same nightmare. Each side will have their own nightmare.

So there is nothing to gloat about.

Of course not. I was merely pointing to the future for them and omitted for us. Very interesting development thought, with the meetings lasting 3 days at a time, we may actually get there yet.
Just as we think its over, they throw slight hope at us.
January seems to me to be the crunch month.

January 2010, 2011,2012............?

[YFred]

Where was your True democracy when we were forced into enclaves and the untouchables were given a free reign to cause mayhem.

So what's stopping you from taking the TMT to the ECHR?

Because it was not the TMT who was pointing the gun at me, it was your brave eoka, surrounded us from all sides. You forget I was there between 63 and 72. I didn't see any TMT guns pointing at me old chap. It was always those ugly roc police and gavur soldiers.

Bombs away Y-Fronts...

On the 7th of June 1958, the Turkish Consulate Press Office was bombed; however, it was not bombed by EOKA. It was bombed by TMT. Either unaware Turkish Cypriots or TMT agents rioted and Greek Cypriots were expelled from a mixed district in Nicosia. Turkish Cypriot nationalist extremists then turned over or torched the evacuated Greek Cypriot homes.

Lots of Turkish Cypriots fled from mixed or isolated villages. According to Nancy Crawshaw, Turkish Cypriot nationalist extremists were responsible for most of the hundreds of individual arson attacks against homes and religious sites, but according to Keith Kyle, '[m]any Turkish [Cypriot] villages were burned' wholly.

On the 25th of March 1962, TMT bombed Bayraktar Mosque and Ömeriye Mosque, then murdered Ayhan Hikmet and Muzaffer Gürkan when they revealed that TMT were responsible. They bombed Bayraktar Mosque again on the 23rd of January 1963, and it was probably TMT who bombed Ömeriye Mosque again on the 30th of May.

http://human-rights-archaeology.blogspo ... -1963.html

But, you don't mention anything about what your untouchables did at the same time frame. Once an eshek always an eshek.
I like the word probably used in your quotes. Your accuracy leaves a lot to be desired. Strange you also don't mention the bombs that eoka put to on the statue of your eoka leader, what was his name? Dragulli? to put the fear of god into GCs. There me thinking you were finally waking up from your slumber. Continue with your dream that you live in, cause six months time you will wake up to your worst nightmare.

wHAT WE DO NOT WANT IS WAKING UP TO NIGHTMARES. This will only lead to future strife.

Judging by the way the talks are going nightmare is where we are heading. Of course we do not want to go there but we may have no choice on the matter. One thing for sure though is that we will not be in the same nightmare. Each side will have their own nightmare.

So there is nothing to gloat about.

Of course not. I was merely pointing to the future for them and omitted for us. Very interesting development thought, with the meetings lasting 3 days at a time, we may actually get there yet.
Just as we think its over, they throw slight hope at us.
January seems to me to be the crunch month.

January 2010, 2011,2012............?

If not 2010 I suspect never? But I am hopeful.

[RAFAELLA]

Αν οι μιναρέδες είναι ξιφολόγχες, τι να κάνει η Ελβετία;

Αν ήμουν στην Ελβετία θα αντιτασσόμουν και εγώ στην ανέγερση μιναρέδων. Αλλά αν μου έλεγαν να γκρεμίσουμε τους μιναρέδες στην Κωνσταντινούπολη ή το Κάιρο, θα αντιτασσόμουν και σε αυτό. Κάθε πόλη έχει το δικό της πνεύμα. Όπως το πνεύμα του ανθρώπου. Δεν μπορείτε να βάλετε με το ζόρι να ακούσει ροκ μουσική κάποιον που δεν του αρέσει αυτό το είδος της μουσικής. Αν επιχειρήσετε να το κάνετε, δεν θα διαφέρετε καθόλου από τους δεσμοφύλακες που βάζουν τους αριστερούς πολιτικούς κρατούμενους, που είναι ερωτευμένοι με τη διεθνή, να ακούνε πέντε φορές την ημέρα τον εθνικό ύμνο απλά και μόνο για να τους βασανίσουν. Δεν μπορείτε να φτιάξετε μιναρέδες στην Αγία Πετρούπολη που δεν δέχτηκε ποτέ να εισχωρήσει μέσα στην πόλη της το σύγχρονο στοιχείο και δεν πείραξε καθόλου τον ιστορικό της διάκοσμο. Ούτε και στη Μόσχα μπορείτε να φτιάξετε μιναρέδες. Δεν ξέρω αν το γνωρίζετε, αλλά στη Μόσχα γκρέμισαν όλα εκείνα τα κτήρια από γυαλί και μπετόν, που είχαν μετατρέψει σε παλιάτσο το πνεύμα της αρχαίας δομής της πόλης. Τα γκρέμισαν παρά το γεγονός ότι στέκονταν ακόμη γερά στο κέντρο της πόλης. Τα ισοπέδωσαν όλα. Για να καθαρίσουν το πνεύμα της πόλης από τους λεκέδες. Μήπως μπορείτε να κτίσετε μιναρέδες στη Βενετία; Δεν μπορείτε. Δεν είναι θέμα μουσουλμανισμού και χριστιανισμού αυτό. Πώς μπορεί να εγκρίνει ένας νοήμων άνθρωπος την προσβολή και το βιασμό τού πνεύματος μιας πόλης έχοντας τη θρησκεία ως ασπίδα;

Μην νομίζετε ότι τα γράφω αυτά επειδή είμαι άθεος. Το άρθρο αυτό δεν έχει τίποτε να κάνει με τις θρησκείες. Όμως, προκαλούν αποτροπιασμό όσοι αντιδρούν χωρίς να επιδεικνύουν σεβασμό στην απόφαση που πήρε ο ελβετικός λαός. Ειδικά οι φωνές που ακούγονται στην Τουρκία. Μήπως είναι δυνατόν να μην επαναστατεί κανείς γι΄ αυτή τη διπλοπροσωπία; Μήπως η Τουρκία σέβεται πολύ τις θρησκευτικές πεποιθήσεις των μη μουσουλμανικών μειονοτήτων και τώρα επικρίνει άλλους; Ας ασκήσει κριτική πρώτα στον εαυτό της, αν πρόκειται να κριτικάρει κάποιον. Επιπλέον, υπάρχει και το εξής: Διερωτώνται συνεχώς γιατί υποβλήθηκε σε δημοψήφισμα ένα τέτοιο θέμα. Είναι, λένε, πολύ σοβαρό θέμα. Δεν μπορούσε να υποβληθεί σε δημοψήφισμα, λένε. Δεν μπορούσε να αφεθεί ο λαός να αποφασίσει. Σύμφωνα με τον Αχμέτ Νταβούτογλου, το δημοψήφισμα είναι «δίκοπο μαχαίρι». Έτσι λέει. Αφού είναι δίκοπο μαχαίρι, γιατί το δίνουν συνεχώς σε εμάς αυτό το μαχαίρι; Μας το έδωσαν μία φορά. Γίναμε κομμάτια. Τώρα λένε ότι θα μας το ξαναδώσουν, σαν να μας μεταφέρουν κάποια χαρμόσυνη είδηση. Δεν μπορεί να διεξαχθεί δημοψήφισμα για τους μιναρέδες στην Ελβετία, αλλά στην Κύπρο μπορεί να γίνει δημοψήφισμα για τη λύση, έτσι δεν είναι; Τι είδους διπλοπροσωπία είναι αυτή;

Είναι πιο ενδιαφέροντα αυτά που είπε ο Εγκεμέν Μπαγίς. Αν ήταν μέλος της ΕΕ η Ελβετία, λέει, δεν θα μπορούσε να το κάνει αυτό. Μήπως αν ήταν η Τουρκία μέλος της ΕΕ, θα μπορούσε να κάνει αυτά που κάνει τώρα; Θα μπορούσε να κατέχει ακόμη την Κύπρο; Θα μπορούσε να καταπιέζει τους Κούρδους στην ίδια την Τουρκία; Θα μπορούσε να ρίχνει παιδιά στη φυλακή επειδή έγραψαν ένα πανό; Θα μπορούσε θα κρατάει στις φυλακές για πολλά χρόνια ανθρώπους που δεν καταδικάστηκαν; Θα μπορούσε να γίνεται καθημερινά από τις τηλεοράσεις και τα ραδιόφωνα ρατσιστική προπαγάνδα; Και κάτι πιο απλό: Αν η Τουρκία ήταν μέλος της ΕΕ, θα μπορούσε να βάφει τα βουνά στην Κύπρο με σημαίες;

Τι είχε πει κάποτε ο Ταγίπ Ερντογάν; «Οι μιναρέδες είναι οι ξιφολόγχες μας, οι θόλοι τους τα κράνη μας και τα τζαμιά τα στρατόπεδά μας», είχε πει. Αν οι μιναρέδες είναι ξιφολόγχες, τι να κάνει η Ελβετία αυτές τις ξιφολόγχες αφού δεν διαθέτει καν στρατό; 'Αλλωστε κυρίως γι΄ αυτό το λόγο διεξήγαγε δημοψήφισμα. Την ενόχλησε αυτή η ξιφολόγχη. Μήπως έχει άδικο; Δεν θέλει ξιφολόγχες και τέτοια στη χώρα της. Ο Ερντογάν δεν ξέρει τι λέει, τι κάνει. Φοράει πάντα μια ενδυμασία που τον βολεύει, αλλά δεν γίνεται έτσι. «Δεν υπάρχουν εγκλήματα στο Νταρφούρ. Δεν μπορούν να διαπράξουν εγκλήματα οι μουσουλμάνοι», είπε. Πριν αλέκτωρ λαλήσει, αναφέρθηκε στο έγκλημα που διαπράχθηκε στο Ντέρσιμ το 1937. Κατά την εποχή του Ατατούρκ. Δολοφονήθηκαν, λέει, χιλιάδες άτομα. Ε, πού είναι αυτό που είπε ότι οι μουσουλμάνοι δεν μπορούν να διαπράξουν εγκλήματα; Και μάλιστα, τι χρειάζεται να πάει κανείς τόσο μακριά; Μήπως αυτά που έγιναν στην Κύπρο το 1974 ήταν ηρωισμοί;

Κωδικός άρθρου: 913319
ΠΟΛΙΤΗΣ - 04/12/2009, Σελίδα: 13
http://www.politis-news.com/cgibin/hweb ... -V=columns

______________________________________________________________

If the minarets are bayonets, what can Switzerland do ;

If I was in Switzerland and I will oppose the building of minarets. But if I were told to tear down the minarets of Istanbul and Cairo, and will oppose it. Each city has its own spirit. As the spirit of man. You may not by force to listen to rock music, someone who does not like this kind of music. If you try to do, there will be no different from the guards who put their left-wing political prisoners who are in love with the world, listen to five times a day for the national anthem just to torture them. You can not make minarets in St. Petersburg which was not acceptable ever to penetrate into the city of contemporary styles and do not bother me at all the history of decoration. Neither in Moscow you can build minarets. I do not know if you know, but in Moscow pulled all those buildings of glass and concrete, which had turned into clown spirit of the ancient structure of the city. The demolished although still standing strong in the city center. The leveled everything. To purify the spirit of the city from stains. Can you build minarets in Venice? You can not. It is on Islam and Christianity that. How to adopt an intelligent man to attack and rape of the spirit of a city having religion as a shield?

Do not think that I write this because I am an atheist. This article has nothing to do with religions. But those who cause outrage react without showing respect for the decision taken by the Swiss people. Especially the voices heard in Turkey. Do not be outraged about this one duplicity? Perhaps Turkey respects very religious beliefs of non-Muslim minority and now criticize others? Let us first criticism itself, if it is to criticize someone. Moreover, there is the following: continuous query submitted to a referendum because such an issue. It is, say, a very serious matter. Could not be submitted to a referendum, they say. He could not let the people decide. According to Ahmed Ntavoutoglou, the referendum is "double-edged sword. So he says. Since it is double-edged sword, because ever give us this knife gave us the once. We became pieces. Now say we rebuilt from the like to convey to us some good news. There may be a referendum on minarets in Switzerland, but in Cyprus can become a referendum on the solution, is not it? What kind of duplicity is that?

It's more interesting what the Egkemen Bayis. If a member of the EU, Switzerland, he says, could not do that. Perhaps if Turkey was a member of the EU could do what he does now? Could still hold on Cyprus? Could to oppress the Kurds in Turkey itself? Could be throwing children in jail because they wrote a banner? It could be keeping in prison for many years people who were not convicted? could be daily from televisions and radios racist propaganda? And something more simple: If Turkey was a member of the EU, could be painted the mountains in Cyprus flags ?

What had once said Tayyip Erdogan? "The minarets are our bayonets, the domes are our helmets and the mosques our barracks," he said. If the minarets are bayonets, what to do Switzerland such as bayonets, does not even military? Moreover mainly for that reason held a referendum. Inconvenience this bayonet. Is it unfair? Not want bayonets and such in the country. Erdogan knows what it says it does. Always wears a dress to the suits, but not so. "There are crimes in Darfur. They can not commit crimes, the Muslims, "he said. Before cock crow, referred to the crime committed in Ntersim 1937. At the time of Ataturk. Murdered, says thousands of people. E, where is it said that Muslims can not commit crimes? And indeed, what you need to go that far? Did what happened in Cyprus in 1974 was heroism?

[Expatkiwi]

Turkish troops, turkish settlers, turkish fleas etc out of Cyprus!

You want to continue that signature to include "Turkish Cypriots out of Cyprus" as well? I suppose if it worked in the case of the Sudeten Germans in 1945, why not?

[Get Real!]

Turkish troops, turkish settlers, turkish fleas etc out of Cyprus!

You want to continue that signature to include "Turkish Cypriots out of Cyprus" as well? I suppose if it worked in the case of the Sudeten Germans in 1945, why not?

You’re pretty good when it comes to 2-cent shit stirring tossings!

[RAFAELLA]

Turkish troops, turkish settlers, turkish fleas etc out of Cyprus!

You want to continue that signature to include "Turkish Cypriots out of Cyprus" as well? I suppose if it worked in the case of the Sudeten Germans in 1945, why not?

You’re pretty good when it comes to 2-cent shit stirring tossings!

x2

Thanks GR

[RAFAELLA]

Egemen Bagis calls on Muslim countries to withdraw their money from Switzerland and deposit them in Turkey

Hurriyet Daily News (02.12.09) publishes the following report under the title:

“Turkey's chief negotiator with the European Union has called on Muslims to withdraw their money from Swiss banks. A Turkish economist said that if the call, which is in response to the ‘minaret ban’ in Switzerland, is followed by action, Turkey may indeed manage to divert some of the bank accounts to itself. Speaking on Tuesday about the controversial ‘minaret’ ban, Egemen Bagis said he is sure that ‘the ban would be an opportunity for our Muslim brothers to review their decision to keep their money in Swiss banks’. Replying to a question on whether such a move would create a backlash by encouraging "Christians to withdraw their money from Turkish banks," Bagis said Turkey does not exercise any ban on Christian faith. ‘There is no reason for Christians to do so’, he told journalists in Brussels. ‘All religions are freely practiced in Turkey. For 900 years, mosques, churches and synagogues in Turkey have been offering peace to humanity. ‘Not only Turks, but many Muslims have investments and funds in Swiss banks. Last year, all global banks had losses or went bankrupt, but not even a single Turkish bank was at a loss’, he said.

‘The Turkish banking sector showed its resilience in the 2008 crisis. Thus, I am giving a message to those who wish to review their investments in Turkey [by saying] that Turkey should be taken into account. Turkey is a safe harbour and the right address for investments’, Bagis said. ‘In essence, Turkey is trying to attract Turkish investments in various countries in an effort to strengthen its foreign currency situation’, said economist Kerem Alkin in relation to Bagis' statements. ‘What Bagis said might be a wise tactic to widen the scope to all Muslims’, he said. ‘However, if Muslims who have Swiss bank accounts are keeping their money there for different reasons, such as for less taxes or [because of] sound banking, attracting them might be difficult’, Alkin told the Hurriyet Daily News and Economic Review. ‘It may be necessary to follow these words with deeds, questioning why Muslims keep their money at Swiss banks’, he said. Noting that Swiss banks did not do well amid the global crisis, Alkin said Bagis might be trying to seize an opportunity during a period when the image of Swiss banks is vulnerable.”

On the Swiss referendum Today’s Zaman (03.12.09) reported that the Foreign Minister of Turkey Ahmet Davutoglu has had talks with his Swiss counterpart, Micheline Calmy-Rey, on how to contain growing global protests against a controversial referendum to ban construction of minarets.

The two ministers have discussed a new referendum to reverse the ban as an option to ease tensions simmering in the aftermath of the weekend vote. Speaking on Wednesday to reporters in Athens, where he attended a meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Davutoglu said he had told Calmy-Rey that the referendum could spark a crisis similar to the one that erupted following the 2006 publication of caricatures in Denmark insulting the Prophet Muhammad.

He told reporters that Calmy-Rey was aware of how important the issue is and added that he sensed that the Swiss minister was ready to take measures to address the situation. When holding a new referendum on the ban was discussed, Calmy-Rey did not rule it out, saying such options are available. A new referendum requires 100,000 signatures demanding a new public vote to reverse the ban.

The proposal to reverse the ban with a new referendum has supporters among the European Greens as well. In remarks to Swiss state television on Tuesday night, European Greens co-chair Daniel Cohn-Bendit said that a referendum to reverse the decision should be held in one year’s time.

The minaret ban is a slap in the face to Muslims, and the issue should be taken to the polls again in a year, he said. “Democracy doesn’t always come up with the right answer. During World War II the vast majority of Germans were opposed to Jews,” he added.

Davutoglu requested a last-minute change in the text of his speech at the OSCE gathering on Wednesday when he found out that the earlier text did not include any reference to the minaret ban. The revised text included a paragraph, saying that the Swiss ban was not in line with freedom of religion, protection of which is a key responsibility for the OSCE.

In a sign that the Swiss referendum could set an example across Europe, Italy’s far-right coalition partner Northern League said Italy, too, should adopt legislative changes to allow referendums on issues that are currently not put to public vote. The Northern League’s proposal, however, is not expected to receive support from other parties.
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